This show began innocently enough: as a date to go out and hang with my lady on a pair of free tix to a potentially great show. Unfortunately it ended in one of the biggest fights we've had thus far in our going-on-three-year relationship! Wha' happen'? you may innocently wonder. After all, this show should have been swoon-central. I should have obtained a guaranteed hero-status after this one in her eyes. Although this was an artist she wasn't very familiar with, Mr. Bird has just about everything going for him that she loves: a sweet, handsome sounding voice, happy-go-lucky whistle-tunes, he's a string player, etc. etc.; this is easily palpable, digestible, wholly-enjoyable, good old-fashioned indie-pop from a talented artist... Hold it. Listen to myself here: this is the kinda guy she fell for, in the first place, isn't it? Except he's - egad! - much more handsome and about ten-times more talented than I am. Good lord, what was I thinking? I wondered to myself during the performance, is Andrew Bird too hot? Maybe I should keep guys like this to myself, and secretly pine over their gloriously genius threads of musical-tapestry; leave the girl out of the picture altogether. Alright, this is starting to sound a little homo-erotic for sure, but with a musician like Andrew Bird, there really is a ton to love, and most, if not all of it, was on in full form at his performance last Thursday at the Ogden Theater. Bird is an artist whose mastery of his instrument(s), his ability to perform at an extremely high and entertaining level, is a little unnerving for us "little-guys." Granted, my fight with my girlfriend was about much more than what happened that night at the show, and she'll deny it had anything to do with Andrew Bird in the very least [riiiiight... ;)], but the point still stands: Guys, look out. That's all I'm sayin'.
Moving forward...
Bird entered the stage all by his lonesome, amongst an array of oversized gramophone-style bell-horns, one of which periodically rotated throughout the night. It wasn't until later on in the evening that I realized that these were more than mere decorations: these contraptions were mic'd. Then, even later on, I finally realized that these were in fact Leslie's, the kind you might hear vibrating the tone of a B3 Organ. These horns provided the entire set with an air of mysticism: you really wanted to know where he got these things, first of all, how they worked, etc. But musically, too, Bird's set was full of ambience, largely orchestrated by his drummer and electronic-mixer Martin Dosh, which was only augmented by the wonderful, pulsating drones being put forth by these entrancing machines.
Aside from Martin Dosh, who also composes and performs as a solo artist under the moniker "Dosh" (on the Anticon imprint), Andrew Bird's band was largely forgettable. But Dosh and Bird had a chemistry on stage that worked wonders. Both were extremely adept rhythmically, which was an extremely important factor to the success of the music. Bird would often begin songs, taking the first 10 seconds or so to create instant-symphonies, looping parts over one-another systematically and carefully to ensure that the overall rhythmic flow of the song would not be disturbed by any means - but it was of course up to Dosh, the drummer, to really lock that in solid with the entire band. This kind of egg-shell style of performance was obvious to see, as Bird often had to sort of re-set himself once in a while to be sure he was getting it right before signaling "Go" to his band-mates.
Of course, the real draw of this concert, and the one that kept me there through a healthy three-song encore, was Bird himself, and his amazing proficiency as a musician. He effortlessly dashed from guitar to violin, to whistling-loops, and back again at what felt like a break-neck pace. His voice, as previewed on his recordings, translated beautifully in a live-setting, laced with an improvisatory, melismatic-style that just felt so good. His encore opened with an especially impressive tune, which I later discovered is called "Why?" featured Bird in solo-fashion with only his violin to support the bluesy-melody - "Why'd you have to go and do nothing?" he asked, sweetly and innocently, perhaps even a little defeated. This specific number made me also realize the power of Bird's presence as a performer - his singing often felt like a kind of acting, and his songs therefore translated into a very cool kind of storytelling. Not new to music in general - true - but I haven't really heard an artist do this kind of dialogous style, at least this well, since maybe Tom Waits. I'm not at liberty to call it Musical Theater, but maybe you get the idea - Bird's lyrical-performance could often become playfully and enjoyably theatrical.
Bird's set ended with a completely recognizeable track from his earlier album, The Mysterious Production of Eggs, which made me happy considering I've yet to check out his latest release, Noble Beast - something I plan on doing in the very near future. Match the beauty of the music with a packed-yet-amazingly-respectful and attentive crowd, and this chocked up to a well worth it show, sure to be in the running for years best come December. Bird's trek continues on this June, and I urge any and all to get a glimpse of a fabulously talented artist while you can. Check dates and pics (The pics = crummy. I know. Give me a break, I'm learning. Also, there are several others that are coming in flipped 90 degrees, so when I fix it, I'll post! Check back later!):
6/8 - Columbia, MD: Merriweather Post Pavilion
6/15 - Atlanta, GA: Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center
6/17 - Upper Darby, PA: Tower Theatre
6/18 - New York, NY: Radio City Music Hall
6/19 -Boston, MA: Bank of America Pavilion
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